Both our group on the Night Ship, and Madame Al-Halim's Iraqi contingent, are now safely settled in here in Youngblood Circle! It's rather wet and cold here, much as it is in Scotland where you are. However, the contraband hashish Ghazala's group managed to smuggle in is quite exquisite, and nearly makes up for the weather.

Tonks, I do hope your contingent will arrive timely; much is on the table for us all to discuss. Death-Eaters have thoroughly infiltrated insurgent groups in Muggle Iraq, and they are spreading into Iran, providing magical materials as well as intelligence to warlords and Al-Qaeda higher-ups, at the same time as they are urging on the U.S. and British administrations to remain bogged down in their nightmare scenario. Meanwhile, Ghazala is quite impatient to turn the ghosts of Iraqi dead loose as a pox on both their houses, if you know what I mean.

In any case, my dear, if your contingent can arrive any earlier than Monday next, that would be splendid. But please to try to arrive on your scheduled date, at the very least. And you do have comfortable lodgings booked here, do you not; or do you need assistance with those details?

We definitely expect to be in Youngblood Circle on Monday next. How did the initial meeting with Madame Al-Halim go? Are there any metamorphmagi in her group? I've been short of dates lately.

Also, how are Nuala and Roisin doing in the company of Grace O'Malley's ghost? I'd be completely knackered if I was stuck on a ship with an Irish-speaking ghost from the sixteenth century for very long. The novelty would probably wear off rather quickly, unless we hit it off properly to begin with. Or got piss-drunk together every night, or something.

Anyway, Moody, Hestia (you remember her from Ron and Hermione's wedding?), Hermione herself, and I will be there. And while I'm there, I could really use some advice, and perhaps a new songspell, about something I'm going through that I thought I'd put behind me. And yes, it does involve sexual attraction. Bugger.